Chin Whiskey’s Tobacco Conditioner
A few weeks ago we featured the Alberta Smoke Beard Kit by Chin Whiskey which included a unique Hair & Body wash. This Hair & Body wash body did so well that we wanted to do a follow up to cover the hair conditioner which is not sold as part of the kit.
Chin Whiskey actually has two rather interesting hair care products that are currently only offered individually: the Conditioner and the Texture Tonic. We will cover the Texture Tonic is a separate post. In my humble opinion Chin Whiskey could offer the Shampoo, Conditioner and Texture Tonic as part of a hair care package. Throw in a nice brush and we are golden!
Why would you bother with conditioner? My view on this is rather lengthy, but I will give you the abridged versions: moisture! Most men wash their hair on a daily basis and perhaps even twice a day when going to the gym. Obviously, you want to be clean. The catch is that most shampoos are rather harsh on your hair and scalp. The basic recipe for shampoo is essentially comprised of detergents which will strip your hair and scalp of all your natural protective oils. That’s what is making your noggin itchy! The danger with that is that the scalp which grows the hair gets irritated. An irritated scalp means a poor garden for your foliage!
Conditioner is like that refreshing glass of water when it’s 37’C outside! Your hair and scalp will lap it up. A healthy scalp = healthy hair strands!
A suggestion for those of you washing your hair twice a day (morning and after the gym), don’t use shampoo on that second wash – instead, just run your head under the shower head. Your hair will thank you!
So let’s get into the Chin Whiskey conditioner. It comes in the same bottle type as the shampoo and hold 236 ml which makes it large enough to keep you going a number of weeks, but also small enough that you could carry it in your gym bag.
When squeezing some of the conditioner out, you will see that the product is thicker than what you might be accustomed too. It is incredibly creamy, but more like butter than cream if that makes sense.
INGREDIENTS LIST
Being concerned with using healthy products in my hair, I was very pleased to read the ingredient list. Yes, there are a few chemicals, but there is a large proportion of natural ingredient. Seeing sunflower seed oil and olive oil makes me happy. There is even some kiwi fruit extract in there! Kiwi fruit is nothing short of a rock star for hair. Check out the benefits of these oils for yourself. The other high level observation that I find relevant, is that the total ingredient list is rather short. That in itself earns this product extra points. Shampoos and conditioners have notoriously long and complicated ingredient lists. Keeping it short and healthy is a big bonus!
TEST CONDITIONS
My hair washing routine is real straight-forward. On entry to the shower I wet my hair and do a quick shampoo. Then I apply the conditioner which stays there for the duration of the shower. Only once the whole of me is clean do I rinse the conditioner out. Basically, I want to maximise the benefits of the treatment. Being an older man and still having a full head of hair, I can thank in part good genetics, but we can’t undermine the benefits of quality products.
So in the shower I poured a generous amount (the size of a toonie), blended it in and let it do it stuff. By the end of the shower, it rinsed out without a fuss and without leaving my hair feeling tangled or greasy. It felt more along the line of: restored!
The real test comes when brushing after a towel dry. If I can hear the brush crackling and feel some pulling – it’s a deal breaker because I know I am loosing hairs in this process. My hair being some 7 inches on top, I also have to be realistic in my expectations – there will be some gentle tugging. But as long as it’s kept to a minimum, we’re good. The brushing here was as smooth as can be!
RESULTS
I found that my hair felt better and healthier using this conditioner. Since it doesn’t leave any residue my hair was not weight down and easy to style.
FRAGRANCE
As with all Chin Whiskey products, the conditioner has a fragrance. I will admit being a tad confused with the labelling and the fragrance. The label indicated “Tobacco Conditioner”. I was thus expecting a tobacco fragrance like their beard oil and texture tonic, but it’s more along the lines of sweet cedarwood. Mike (the owner) and I spoke about this one and he’s saying that he put a caramel and warm wood based fragrances. My nose could be having an off day or something as I don’t quite smell the caramel. 🙂 Bottom line, there is a lovely sweet and wood like aroma that will not disappoint. It is a fairly short live fragrance meant just for you when showering.
CLOSING REMARKS
In my humble opinion, when considering shampoo and conditioner, the lather is perhaps the more important of the two. For the simple reason that conditioner is the one spending the most time on your hair and scalp. You should leave it in a few minutes. Compared to the few seconds it takes to shampoo, conditioner is there multiple minutes. Conditioner also has the crucial job of revitalising and moisturizing your mope. For those reasons, you want a top shelf product. I am not saying that you should skimp on the shampoo and put all your money on the conditioner. Far from it because a quality shampoo like the one by Chin Whiskey will clean your hair without stripping out all of those protective oils and that is a big part of keeping the hair you have working for you. But a shampoo that leaves your scalp dry and itchy needs to be thrown out as it is not doing you any favours.
Chin Whiskey did a great job with this one and every time I use, I can practically hear my hair thanking me.